Alvin snuck into the Unda and sat in the crowd section. Ever since the argument he had with his older brother, he'd been feeling rather shortchanged. ' I'm the one who discovered the village and them so I should have them' he thought feverishly as he sat there watching a concluding opening match.
Albert strode in and sat in the glamorously decked VIP area. He had been on edge all morning after Alex had called him. The details of his father killing two assassin bots in one go was something that surprised him. ' Never underestimate the elderly' he thought amusedly. He sat down and waited for his team to fight while watching a female bot singing mechanically in the ring below. It's singing grated on his ears irritating him.
* * *
Thia held the cup of warm water in his hands. He was thirsty and this warm water was doing nothing satiate it. This made him irritated. He wanted water cold water that he was used to back at home. The thought of home pained him. Will he ever see it again? he wondered as he walked over to where both Mwas and Kim were. They were arguing and looked ready to fight when he stepped in. " I don't care what happened between you two but in case you haven't noticed we're in a whole different world so unless you want to stay here I suggest you shove down your hatred for each other before I bury it down your throats got that,"? he told them off angrily. Both Mwas and Kim looked at him then looked at each other and wordlessly made peace, there was something scary about a good natured person getting angry.
The Ītha bots slowly made their way into their section. Albert looked at them and smiled, his efforts at keeping them as challengers had worked. However, it had come with an uncomfortable cost, a new addition to the bots. The one that joined was a lethal knives and short swords expert. He hoped for a draw, at the very least.
Thia and the rest, including the old man, also arrived and sat in their section amid cheers from the crowd. Shiru shrank inwardly. She was still traumatized from her fight with the female bot a few days ago but tried hard not to show it. Still the sounds and the sight of the square ring still shook her. Thia sighed loudly. He was extremely thirsty and this made him angry and irritable.
A robot slowly took to the center , announcing the next match. Thia stood up and said," Let me have this," he said and walked towards the ring. Kim was impressed. 'So there are times that you can angrily motivate yourself eh'? he thought smiling.
The new bot, Gīrī, stride in in style, its weapons drawn. Thia had chosen the same weapons; short swords and knives. He tucked the knives in hs back and held the two swords in both hands. They both entered the ring, the leza beams went up. It was time to start.
For a moment no one moved. Then, the loud sound of clashing swords signaled the beginning of what was later known to be the best sword fight in Unda's history.
Both competitors stepped back and paused eyeing each other. Then they rushed in again. The crowd watched on excitedly as both exchanged blows. They were evenly matched that is until the bot kicked him below the belt. Thia crumpled to the ground holding back a scream. This was clearly a violation of the rules but in Unda, those rules had never seen the light of day and probably never will. Thia looked at the bot as it stood a few feet away from him. It seemed like it had enjoyed that kick and seemed to be gloating. He kneeled and waited, slowly catching his breath. " Are you waiting for your crown jewels to pop out of your stomach hm"? the bot asked as it bent low trying to catch Thia's attention.
Thia looked at the bot and said," I'm incredibly thirsty so do me a favor and forfeit this match," he stood up slowly. The bot was taken aback by this. In all the matches it had participated in, no human had ever given it such a reply. It scoffed, this was going to be good. " I see you won't give up. Don't say I didn't give you a chance," This concluded and jumped up. He pulled out his swords and landed a heavy blow on the bot. its last ditch effort to put up its swords was what saved it. But Thia wasn't done. He grabbed the bot's torso with his legs and, using it as anchor, lowered his upper body. He stabbed the bot's right knee and left one sword there. Gīrī pushed him out and tried to get the sword out but Thia wouldn't let him.
Thia lunged at it in lightning speed and swung his remaining sword. The bot countered but not as fast as before. Thia shoved his remaining sword into the bot's shoulder and stepped back. He took out the knives and, for a moment, smiled. They were the weapons he was most comfortable with. The bot never saw him coming in. One moment it was on defense, the next, its arms were flying off and oil was oozing everywhere. Gīrī, the bot who had been on a winning streak over the last two years, had finally lost to a teenage boy. The crowd went wild as the bot conceded defeat.
It was another win for House AL. A win for Albert.